This is Where I Belong
by phoenixqueen
Summary: Songfic! Aragorn returns to Rivendell after a long absence and reflects on the place he has always called home.


This Is Where I Belong

Disclaimer:  All references to people and places in Middle-Earth belong to the great J.R.R. Tolkien.  The verses in the story are from the song "This is Where I Belong" which is from the movie "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" and belongs to Bryan Adams.  Nothing belongs to me in this story except the plot, and the sentry, Nenril.

_Anything in italics_ is song lyrics

/…/ is elvish

*…* is a private thought

*^^^^* is scene change or time change

Aragorn, son of Arathorn, stood on the plains of Middle-Earth, on a bluff that overlooked the Misty Mountains.  He smiled as he regarded the mountains.  His heart was among those forested mountains.  More precisely, his home was in Rivendell, the elven haven that lay in a gully beneath the Brunien River.  He had grown up there, as the adopted son of Elrond Half-Elven, Lord of Rivendell.

_I hear the wind_

_Across the plain_

A light breeze blew around him, tossing his shoulder-length dark hair all across his face.  The wind swirled all around him, before changing direction and heading in the direction of the Misty Mountains and Rivendell.  Aragorn, known as Estel to the elves, smiled and started down the path, moving towards Rivendell.

The young man, one of the rangers of the north, had been out on patrol for several months, sometimes alone and sometimes in the company of other rangers.  As the chief of the rangers, it was Aragorn's job to keep in touch with the others and to check up on their patrols every once in a while.  After being away from Rivendell for several months however, Aragorn had decided to return and spend some time with his adopted family before setting off again.  It was still several days' journey from here to Rivendell, but Aragorn wasn't too concerned.

_A sound so strong_

_That calls my name_

_It's wild like the river_

_It's warm like the sun_

*^^^^^*

Aragorn walked beneath the trees of the forest that surrounded Rivendell.  Off in the distance, he could hear the sound of the Brunien River as it wound its way down the mountain and towards the towns that lay outside the forest.

It was night, but Aragorn had decided to keep going this night.  The last several days had been uneventful and he had made good time.  Now he was only a few hours from home, and he had decided that the lack of sleep wouldn't hurt him if it got him home sooner.  He was anxious to see his family again, and he had often gone for several days without sleep, so to lose a few hours wouldn't affect him in a negative way.

Suddenly, Aragorn tensed and his hand drifted towards the hilt of his sword.  Someone else was out there, watching him.  *Not now, not when I am so close to home*, he thought with a grimace.

A soft voice spoke out of the darkness suddenly, in elvish. /Who are you stranger and why do you trespass on the lands of Rivendell?  Speak quickly if you value your life! /

Aragorn stifled a laugh.  He recognized that voice!  He'd better, after growing up in Rivendell!  / You know me, Nenril!  It's Estel! / he replied in elvish.

A dark-haired elf dropped from the trees behind the human.  "Estel?  It's wonderful to see you, but we weren't expecting you!"

Aragorn chuckled.  "I know, Nenril.  I was in the area and I decided to surprise my family and come home for a while.  I've missed everybody terribly."

The elf sentry nodded.  "Well you can continue Estel, and welcome home."  With that, the elf leapt into the trees again to resume his patrol.  Aragorn smiled and stifled another laugh as he continued along the game trail that he was following.

_Yes, here, this is where I belong._

*^^^^^*

A few hours later, Aragorn approached the front gates of his home.  He hadn't been stopped any other times, and the house was still lit. He knew his family often didn't go to bed until quite late, so he should be able to surprise them.

He looked around as he entered the gates.  This courtyard was so familiar, and the house in front of him was also familiar.  He had spent his entire childhood here, and no matter how far he traveled away from Rivendell, his heart would always be here, with the only family he knew.

_Under the starry skies_

_Where eagles have flown_

_This place is paradise_

_It's the place I call home_

He smiled as he remembered the many times that he and his older brothers Elladan and Elrohir had played and trained in this courtyard, and how many of his adventures had started from this courtyard.  Aragorn suppressed a chuckle as he remembered the many times that he, his brothers, or Legolas had come home from one of those adventures to find Elrond waiting for them in this courtyard in preparation to patch one or all of them up from an injury or illness.

Aragorn turned in a slow circle and simply gazed at the familiar sights of his home.  High above the trees, the faintest outline of the mountains could be seen and sinking behind their peaks was the beautiful full moon.  The silvery light arced down into the courtyard and turned everything around him to silver and diamonds.  The gentle breeze continued to blow around him, and the leaves rustled under its prodding.  The faint rustles sounded like whispers of greeting to the Ranger.  Although he could not talk to the trees like the elves could, sometimes he thought he could hear their messages to him on the back of the wind.

_The moon on the mountains_

_The whispers through the trees_

_Splash, splash, bubble_.  From off to his right, the silvery fountain in the near the stables burbled its familiar music, as the diamonds that were the drops created small eddies and waves in the fountain's basin.  For as long as Aragorn could remember, that fountain had been there, singing its music of water and stone.  It was so peaceful, so familiar.  Aragorn prayed that the day would never come when he couldn't consider Rivendell to be his home.  Nothing could ever stop him from feeling more comfortable here than any other place in the wide world.

_The waves on the water_

_Let nothing come between this and me_

Aragorn continued across the courtyard towards the front door, trying to decide what the best way to surprise his family would be.  If he knocked, he knew that they would immediately react as if there was an emergency, because no traveler should be out this late.  While that might be funny to see his brothers' and father's faces when they opened the door and found only him standing there, he knew that that would only lead to relieved exasperation and a lecture.  On the other hand, it would be very hard, if not impossible to sneak into the house without the elves hearing the door open and close, and that would ruin the surprise.

Finally, he decided that the safest thing to do would be to just knock on the door.  Not pound on the door, because that would sound too urgent, but a polite knock would serve best in this case.  He raised his hand and knock several times, loud enough that he would be heard anywhere in the house, but not so loud that he would have the entire household running pell-mell for the doors or the healing wing.

He only had to wait a few seconds before he heard the heavy doors opening.  He hadn't heard the approaching footsteps, but that wasn't too surprising as the elves were extremely graceful and it was hard to hear them at the best of times.

The door swung open, revealing Lord Elrond, who looked out into the dark courtyard, and as he saw his sun standing in the halo of light from the door, he started in surprise.  It was very hard to surprise the Master of Rivendell, which made for very pleasant memories the few times that Aragorn had managed it.

"E-estel?" the elf lord stammered in surprise.  "What are you doing here?"

Without bothering to answer his father, Estel flung himself forward into the elf's arms, wrapping his own around the elderly elf's waist and giving him a huge hug.  After a brief second, Elrond's arms closed tightly about the ranger and returned the hug.  They remained that way for several moments before Elrond released his son, and backed into the house, allowing Estel entrance.

Aragorn slipped into the house as Elrond closed the door behind him.  "Where are Elladan and Elrohir, Ada?"  He turned back to face his father.

"They are in the Hall of Fire.  I was going to make us something hot to drink, when I heard you knocking.  What are you doing here, Estel?"  A sudden fear shrilled along the elf lord's nerves, as it did every time his sons returned home.  "You aren't hurt, are you?"

Estel laughed lightly.  "No Ada, I'm not.  I finished my business with the other rangers, and I realized I hadn't seen you for several months.  Since I was pretty close to home, I decided to come back for a few months.  I was pretty deep into the woods this afternoon, and I decided that losing a few hours of sleep wouldn't kill me, so I pressed on."  He reached out and hugged his father again.  "Now, I think I'll go surprise those two and then we can all talk."

Elrond nodded, relieved that his youngest son wasn't hurt at all.  "Go right ahead and surprise them, if you can, Estel. I'll be there in a few minutes."  The elf lord released his son, and turned towards the kitchen.  Estel smiled and headed in the opposite direction through the familiar corridors, heading for the Hall of Fire.

_Cuz because everything I want_

_Is everything that's here_

Estel slowed his steps as he approached the Hall, listening hard, trying to figure out of his brothers had realized that someone had arrived so late at night.  All he could hear were the familiar sounds of the twins' good-natured bickering.  He slipped into true stealth mode, and peered through the open doorway.

Both of his brothers had their backs to him.  Elladan, the older of the twin was holding a book, which he had obviously been trying to read before the two of them got drawn into the current argument.  Elrohir was holding a pillow, and was threatening his twin with it, over some perceived "insult".  Estel barely contained a snicker, as he crouched down and slipped into the room, trying to stay out of the twins' line of sight.  He used all of the tricks he had at his disposal and managed to get behind Elrond's favorite chair without being seen or heard.  He reached up and snagged two pillows from the seat before continuing his stealthy trek towards his brothers.

So intent on their quarrel, neither twin noticed as their adopted brother crept right up behind the sofa where they were both sitting.  As a result, when they both got pelted with pillows simultaneously, they were very startled, to say the least.  Both of them looked around the room to find the offender, and when they saw their human brother standing in the middle of the room, their surprise turned to joy as they leapt to their feet and practically tackled Estel to the ground in an attempt to greet him.

Elrond watched all of this from the doorway, where he stood holding a tray with four mugs of steaming tea.  He had seen his youngest son's stealthy movements and watched as the boy pelted his brothers with the pillows he had "borrowed" from Elrond's chair.

The elf lord cleared his throat, and the pile of elves and human all looked up with a start, before detangling themselves from each other and resuming their seats on the couch.  Estel paused long enough to pick up the pillows and replace them in Elrond's chair.  He dropped into another armchair and accepted a cup of the hot tea from his father.  He glanced around at his family and smiled as warmth spread through him, warmth that had nothing to do with the cup of tea in his hand.

_And when we're all together,_

_there's nothing to fear_

This was where he belonged, and he knew that no matter where his life took him, no matter what journeys he undertook, this place would always be his home.  It was here where his family resided, and it was here that his heart rested.  He smiled broadly as his very predictable brothers turned to him, about to pelt him with a ton of questions.  Yes, this was where he belonged, and this was where he would always return.

_And wherever I wander_

_The one thing I've learned_

_Yea, it's to here_

_I will always, always return_

Translations:

_Ada_: father or daddy

_Estel_: hope


End file.
